Uber Allegedly Paid Some Guy Off to Keep Quiet About a Security Breach

Apparently, Uber paid off the 20-year-old man responsible for the company’s data breach last year just so he would keep quiet about it, according to Reuters.

The October 2016 saw the release of information regarding about 57 million Uber users, with Uber paying the hackers $100,000 each to delete the data they discovered and keep it out of the public eye.

Although the means of payment were not initially released, Reuters reports that the hacker was paid through Uber’s bounty program, which is supposed to be used to reward those who find bugs within the ride-hailing company’s system. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick allegedly knew about the data breach, but the identity of the person who actually paid the hacker is still unknown.

Reuters says that “Uber made the payment to confirm the hacker’s identity and have him sign a nondisclosure agreement to deter further wrongdoing.” Uber also reportedly made sure that the data retrieved by the hacker was actually deleted by conducting a forensic analysis of his computer.

The hacker is supposedly “living with his mom in a small home trying to help pay the bills,” and Uber believes that he is an “individual who did not appear to pose a further threat.”

This is some really shady shit coming from what is perhaps the biggest ride-hailing company in the world. It sure as hell doesn’t make me feel any better about using the service.